Though the upazila election 2014 has received a boost unlike the national election, the growing influence of political parties' on the candidates has cast a damper on the non-party local government polls as prescribed by the laws, reports UNB.
As the 4th countrywide upazila elections are being held against the backdrop of the January 5 parliamentary elections boycotted by the BNP-Jamaat led alliance, the two main archrival political parties - Awami League and BNP-want to prove their popularity through the upazila ballots.
The Election Commission has so far announced schedules for the four phases of the country's 4th upazila elections in 390 upazilas, fixing voting for February 19 and 27, and March 15 and 23.
As the first phase election is only a few days away, election fever has gripped 98 upazilas of 40 districts despite Awami League and BNP's sweeping actions against their so-called rebel candidates.
Both the two major parties have almost overtly engaged in the upazila election race in favour of their respective candidates although the existing law does not permit them to do so.
Local government experts still argue for maintaining the non-partisan nature of the local body election as they consider it the more suitable system.
Contacted, immediate past election commissioner M Sohul Hossain told UNB that the local body elections should be non-partisan one freeing it from political influence.
"Local people will exhibit more interest if the local body polls are practically allowed to remain non-political ones. Those who are genuinely interested in community and social work rising above party politics will come up to contest the elections through the elected institution," he said.
Sohul, the former EC member, said influencing the local body polls by political parties is the clear violation of the law and the Election Commission should protect the polls from party influence.
Local government expert Dr Tofail Ahmed said to bring the local government body elections under political domain, the local government structures has to be changed and the political parties will have to ensure democratic practice within themselves.
He, however, said that non-partisan character of the local body election is better in the present context. "The politicisation will narrow space for the apolitical persons to become candidates for local body election."
But there is nothing contrary to the law, if political parties informally support any candidate or motivate any candidate contesting in the local government bodies, he observed. "Even I don't see any legal bar if a political party involves in the polls asking candidates to withdraw candidature on the basis of mutual compromise," he added.
Dr Badiul Alam Majumder, secretary of Sujan, a local NGO working on good governance echoed Dr Tofail said it is better to keep the election non-political as politicisation might prompt election violence.
"If the polls are made partisan ones, it will reduce the number of candidates and if ruling party candidate gets defeated in an area, its people will be deprived due to political vendetta," he added.
Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury, executive director of NGO Brotee, said though the polls are non-partisan in the eye of the law, the elections are seen and held politically from decades. "If the elections are not made partisan legally, the law in this regard should be followed strictly. And the Election Commission should urge political parties to refrain from leaving the influencing on the polls," she added.
However, Harun-or-Rashid Howlader, President of Bangladesh Upazila Parishad Association said it is more essential to remove MPs' intervention from upazila parishad rather than curbing political parties' influence.
Debate rages as political parties exert influence on UZ polls
FE Team | Published: February 15, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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